Family: Injured
by Akiko Natsuko
Summary: Sequel to Family, although it can be read without. Two short tales of Sasuke and Yukimura's relationship after growing up together in Kai, and the tests that War forces them to endure as they have to deal with the other being injured in battle. Basically an excuse for Sasuyuki fluff.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sengoku Basara and its characters don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them.

SBSB

Sasuke yawned slightly as he readjusted himself into a slightly more comfortable position on the branch, making sure that he could still watch over Yukimura who was busying practicing with his spears in the courtyard below. It was a quiet time for Kai with a brief lull in the seemingly never-ending wars and technically there was no need for him to spending a rare free afternoon watching over the teenager, especially as he knew that the Tiger cub was more than capable of protecting himself, but old habits die hard and even with that knowledge he disliked being out of sight of the teen unless absolutely necessary.

Even now, so many years after the night they had fled to Kai he found it hard to believe that Takeda had allowed him to remain at his Master's side…many in Kai had also been worried by their General's decision, and the first couple of years that he had spent here had been clouded by a haze of suspicion and dislike to the point where several times he had wondered whether it was even worth the effort he was putting in to be accepted…Benmaru had been safe and was blossoming under Shingen's care and he had even gone so far as to contemplate heading back to his village, however, those thoughts never lasted long as the boy's impassioned plea from that night had always stopped him in his tracks.

"_Sasuke is my family…Don't send him away!"_

Those words never once ceased to warm him inside and he could feel a small smile creeping onto his face as he refocused his attention of the teen below. He had always thought that such affection would decrease over the years as his Master grew, and yet no matter how strong the teen had become or how independent he refused to cut or even loosen the ties between them and instead the Shinobi had found himself becoming more and more dependent on the teen's wellbeing.

As confident as he was in Yukimura's skill and strength, he always winced when he saw the teen charging into battle in his limited armour…no matter how much begging and threatening he did, he was never able to convince the teen to wear more protective clothing and he had, had many a sleepless night as a result of it. He was constantly aware of the fact that it would only take one lucky shot or strike and Yukimura would be out of the fight…or worse, although he rarely allowed his mind to linger on the worse, unable to imagine a world without the teen.

Unfortunately there had been more than one occasion when he had nearly had to find out…and each one haunted him driving him to increase his skills constantly in the hope of stopping there ever being another. His eyes narrowed as his mind drifted to the incident only a few months ago when he had been reminded once again just how little it could take for him to nearly lose the teen.

SB

"_DANNA!" Sasuke yelled in horror as he watched the teen dropping heavily to the ground, waiting for a brief moment to see if he made it back to his feet and feeling icy dread seeping through him when Yukimura made no effort to get back to his feet. The teen never stayed down during a battle… "Out of my way!" He snarled viciously as that realisation settled over him, and he lashed out wildly as he began to fight his way towards the teen, barely paying attention to who he was fighting as he kept his eyes locked on Yukimura determined not to give anyone else a chance to sneak up on his Master._

_A wave of relief hit him when he reached the teen and he found that Yukimura was still conscious, although the brown eyes that locked with his were clouded and his face was lined with pain. Still it was better than what his mind had been conjuring, and he sank weakly down beside the teen, drinking in the sight of his open, alert eyes._

"_S-Sasuke," Yukimura wasn't quite able to keep his voice as composed as he wanted, wincing as he shifted slightly to raise his head to look up at the worried Shinobi and offering him a forced smile that looked more like a grimace than anything else. "I'm alright…"_

"_Sure you are," Sasuke muttered cutting across the teen's assurances, his amber eyes concerned as he watched the colour that was rapidly draining from Yukimura's face. With gentle hands he reached and maneuvered the teen until he was comfortably leaning against him, before easing the red jacket aside to expose the wound. "Let me look," he ordered when Yukimura began to protest the action, and the teen subsided as he felt gentle fingers carefully probing the injury and he found himself having to bite his lip against the pain the action caused._

"_It looks worse than it is," Yukimura said softly as he noticed the concern on Sasuke's face increasing during the examination, although his attempt at reassuring the other was ruined when he broke down into a coughing fit a couple of seconds later and his whole body tensed in pain. At once he could feel gentle hands holding him in place, and there was a soothing voice in his ear encouraging him to breathe and ride out the pain and he gladly leant back against the Shinobi as the fit slowly subsided. "Sa…"_

"_Shh stop talking," Sasuke interrupted sternly, his concern threatening to give way to panic as he glimpsed the small splatter of blood that had appeared on the teen's chin…so much for it being worse than it looked, he mused bitterly as he glanced around trying to work out their next move. There was no way they could remain on the battlefield…it wouldn't take long for an opportunistic soldier to spot that the teen was down and try to take advantage of the situation. "Danna we need to get you out of here…"_

"_But…"_

"_Taishou will be fine," Sasuke said firmly, instinctively knowing what the teen was trying to say and for once cursing the teen's loyal dedication to the Tiger of Kai… it was one of the things that was always guaranteed to prevent Yukimura from focusing on his own wellbeing…that and Sasuke's wellbeing…but there was no way he was going to let the teen endanger himself for no reason. Their forces were already turning the battle around and he had little doubt that Takeda had already been informed about Yukimura's injury…that news would lend fury to their General's attacks and he had little doubt that this fight was already won. "Just worry about yourself for once."_

_With gentle hands he maneuvered the teen around until he was able to scoop him up into his arms, every pained gasp grating on his nerves…he hated the fact that he was being forced to cause his Danna more pain but it was the only way to get him out of here as he doubted the teen would be able to stand let alone move under his own steam._

"_Wha…?" Yukimura asked weakly, twisting his head restlessly as he tried to ride out the pain radiating through him, burrowing his fingers into Sasuke's clothes in an attempt to anchor himself in the present._

"_Shh, I'm getting you out of here," Sasuke soothed with a frown as he took in the pained grimace on the teen's face. "Just rest for now," he ordered and with a weary sigh Yukimura obeyed, letting his head come to rest against the Shinobi's chest and allowing his eyes to drift shut. Satisfied that the teen was as comfortable as he could be given the situation, Sasuke took off at a run, barely contained panic and fear lending him speed as he sped away from the battle._

_SB-SB_

_Yukimura moaned softly as he crept back towards consciousness, his slow awakening unfortunately alerting him to the pain radiating from his side and he fought to muffle a low groan of pain…what had happened? Before he could worry about it too much there was a soft noise at his side and then cool fingers were gliding across his forehead, and he tilted his head into the gentle touch with a soft noise._

"_Danna? Are you awake?" The quiet voice broke through his thoughts as they had just begun to drift off once more, and he automatically tilted his head towards it, the worry in the simple words telling him that he had probably been out of it longer than he had originally thought._

"_Sa…suke," he managed to force out through dry lips, frowning slightly at how difficult it had been to say something so simple but his annoyance was derailed when he felt a cup being pressed against his lips as he was lifted carefully to meet it. Trustingly he opened his mouth, a noise of content escaping as cool water slipped in washing away the dryness and it was a battle not to drink to quickly, although the soft voice murmuring in his ear certainly helped._

"_Better?" Sasuke asked as he removed the cup once Yukimura had turned his head away to indicate that he was finished for now, and the teen quietly nodded as he turned his focus to the task of actually convincing his eyes to open._

_It took several moments and more effort than he cared to admit to, to finally force them open into slits and he had to blink heavily in an attempt to bring the blurry world around him into slightly better focus. Before he could try and work out where he was his vision was obscured by a familiar face, and a fond smile tugged at his lips as he peered up into worried amber eyes, although his attention swiftly drifted to the lines of exhaustion he could see lining the Shinobi's face and the dark shadows beneath his eyes…just how long had he been out?_

"_Wha' happened?" He asked once he found his voice, the words coming out slightly slurred despite the fact he'd just had a drink and he pulled a face at the sound._

"_You collapsed on the way back," Sasuke replied and his voice was obviously strained, and Yukimura carefully lifted his hand until it came to rest against one of the Shinobi's armoured arms in an effort to offer comfort. "You've been unconscious for nearly a week…that scratch of yours nearly killed you," his voice was stern as he through the teen's careless words back at him and Yukimura winced at the tone even as he tried to accept the ninja's words…a week?...no wonder Sasuke was in such state, and he realised just how off base his words had been back then…he had honestly thought that it wasn't that serious._

"_I'm sorry," he murmured, not apologising for being wounded as that was part and parcel of being a warrior but wanting Sasuke to know that he hadn't meant to worry him._

"_I know and it's fine," Sasuke said with a faint sigh, taking in the sincerity swimming in the teen's eyes and in truth he knew that Yukimura probably hadn't realised just how serious his injury was. Not that, that had made the last few days any easier to bear…he had been terrified that the healers might be wrong and the teen might try and slip away from him, and he hadn't dared to leave Yukimura's side or even close his eyes in case it happened whilst he lowered his guard. "Just try not to do it again for a while, alright Danna?" He knew he sounded slightly desperate which was very unprofessional, but the thought of being in this situation again any time soon terrified him._

"_I'll try," Yukimura promised immediately, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the emotions flittering across Sasuke's face and wishing that he could erase all the negative ones. He was derailed from his thoughts as a wide yawn broke free and he blinked heavily as he realised just how tired he was feeling, however, his natural stubbornness reared up and he fiercely fought against the pull of sleep…he didn't want to leave Sasuke alone again so soon._

"_It's okay Danna get some more rest," Sasuke spoke gently as he watched the teen struggling to keep his eyes open. In truth he was reluctant to let the teen fall asleep once more even though he knew it was unlikely that he would fall back into the same deep unconsciousness as before, and he knew that rest would only help the teen._

"_You…too."_

"_Me?" Sasuke asked with a confused frown not understanding what Yukimura was asking, blinking as Yukimura tilted his head towards him with a mulish expression._

"_I'll sleep if you will as well," Yukimura replied with a frown, trying to look stern but failing as another wide yawn broke free but his gaze never wavered as he stared hard at Sasuke._

"_But…"_

"_I can tell you haven't been sleeping," Yukimura cut across whatever protests the Shinobi was trying to make, his gaze intense as he locked eyes with Sasuke before unleashing the one weapon that he knew the older man could never resist. "Please…" he pleaded softly as he made his eyes large, and he was rewarded by the Shinobi swallowing hard before sighing in defeat._

"_Fine," Sasuke muttered, cursing himself for being unable to resist whenever Yukimura resorted to big eyes and pleading…it was a weapon that had worked against him from the very start of his service to the Sanada family, and despite the years that had passed he had never been able to build up a defence against it. "Go to sleep," he ordered softly but the watchful eyes never wavered, and sighing once more he shifted until he was stretched out beside the teen's futon and after a moment the teen gave a nod of satisfaction before allowing his eyes to drift shut as he gave into his own exhaustion._

_The Shinobi wanted to sit up and resume his watch, but something about the concern he had seen in Yukimura's eyes made him stay where he was and before he was aware of it he had also drifted off to sleep, lulled by the knowledge that the teen was on the mend. It was a testament to his exhaustion that he didn't even stir when Shingen peered in a short while later to check of them, stepping quietly into the room when he realised that Sasuke was asleep and finding a spare blanket that he draped over the exhausted ninja before slipping from the room once more._

SB-SB

Shaking his head to clear his mind as he shoved the memory to the back of his mind he turned his attention back to the courtyard as he realised that it was quieter than it should have been with Yukimura's usual habit of yelling loudly whilst practicing. Only to find the teen in question stood directly below and peering up at him in concern, and he grimaced as he realised that he must've been spacing out for longer than he thought.

"I thought you'd gone to sleep," Yukimura called up teasingly, but there was a glint of concern in his expressive eyes and Sasuke could only begin to guess at what emotions had been showing on his face to put that look in his eyes.

"Sorry Danna I was just daydreaming," he lied as he sat up before dropping neatly to the ground, missing the brief flicker of disbelief that passed over Yukimura's expression before the teen's expression cleared and he grinned at the Shinobi who eyed the expression suspiciously as he caught the hint of mischief behind it.

"Don't forget you owe me Dango," he said teasingly and Sasuke groaned as he recalled that he had indeed lost a bet with the teen the day before. "Lots of Dango," he added and the Shinobi sighed before holding his hands up in defeat.

"Fine, fine," he grumbled but there was a glimpse of amusement in his eyes as the teen was practically bounced after him as he led the way towards the kitchen, letting Yukimura's seemingly never-ending energy drive away the remnants of the earlier memory.

SB-SB

Part 1 of 2 of a little continuation to Family that has been bugging me to be written for the last few days, the next part should be up sometime next week.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sengoku Basara and its characters don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them.

SB-SB

Sasuke sighed with relief when the signal to retreat was sounded from both sides of the battle, and obediently he lowered his shuriken, although he didn't loosen his grip as his opponent seemed to hesitate for a moment before obeying the command. With a last glare the man finally sheathed his weapon and turned away, and after a brief pause Sasuke followed suit with more than a hint of relief. Turning he headed back towards the Takeda forces, glancing around automatically to track down where Yukimura had got to as he realised it had been some time since he'd seen his charge, having lost him at some point in the chaos of battle.

In his distinctive armour it didn't take long to spot the teen who was moving among some of their men, pausing to talk to those who were obviously wounded, and a fond smile tugged at Sasuke's lips as he watched how the men responded to the obvious concern the teen was showing them. Amber eyes narrowed briefly as he studied the teen, searching for the slightest indication that he was injured beyond the usual bruises and scrapes that went with a battle, but there was no sign of blood and no hesitation in Yukimura's movements and after a moment the Shinobi let out a soft sigh of relief…it was rare for the teen to end up badly injured, but he could never shake the fear until he confirmed for himself that his Danna was okay.

Satisfied that Yukimura was uninjured he turned his attention to his own condition, and as though the shift in focus was a trigger he became acutely aware of the burning in his side which had been resolutely ignoring up until this point. Gritting his teeth he carefully raised a hand to examine his side, unsurprised when he pulled his fingers back to find the armour damp and he knew without a doubt that he was bleeding…and quite badly if the pain assailing him now that he was aware of the injury was anything to go by. Muttering a curse he pressed his arm up against his side, in the hopes that the added pressure would help stem the bleeding but he knew that he needed to get a proper look at it sooner or later.

Shifting his focus back to Yukimura he was relieved to see that the teen was still fully focused on checking in on the rest of their men and hadn't realised that he was injured, he hated seeing the worried expression that the teen would adopt the few times he was hurt and he was determined to hide this latest wound if possible. There was no need to fear another attack at this point as both Shingen and Kenshin were honourable men, and he knew that the teen would be safe without him for a short time, so with only a brief hesitation he quietly slipped away to find somewhere where he could tend to the wound.

SB

Yukimura's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of his loyal Shinobi slipping away, instantly noting the arm that was carefully pressed in an unnatural way Sasuke's side and the way he was favouring that side as he moved. He scowled, knowing all too well what those signs indicated, and even less happy at the fact that the older man was trying to sneak away and deal with it himself…again. With a tremendous amount of effort he turned his attention back to the solider he was talking to, but his mind kept wandering to Sasuke, and after a moment he politely excused himself.

Glancing around he was unsurprised to find that Shingen was watching him, and before he could do anything the older man had tilted his head in the direction that the Shinobi had disappeared in…clearly the older Tiger was just as aware of what Sasuke was up to as Yukimura was, and with a grateful look the teen turned and set off after his wayward Shinobi, irritation and concern lending him speed as he hastily moved around men that were calling out greetings to him. He felt bad for brushing them aside with little more than an absent-minded nod or wave, but at that moment it was impossible for him to focus on anything besides Sasuke.

SB-SB

Sasuke hissed before gritting his teeth as he carefully began to remove his armour, each movement sending a flash of pain through his side and he found himself having to bite his lip to hold back any more noises of pain. It had been a foolish error that had led to the deep gash on his side…he had been so focused on making sure that no attacks slipped through Yukimura's defences that he had inadvertently left himself wide open, allowing an opportunistic soldier land a blow on the most vulnerable part of his armour.

"Damn," he cursed as he pulled the last of the material away, grimacing as he studied the injury with assessing eyes, noting that it was a lot deeper than he had thought it was when he gave it a brief once over during the battle. It was also awkwardly placed and he knew that it was going to be a nuisance to treat on his own, but he was reluctant to seek help, especially as he knew there was no way he could do that and not let Yukimura discover that he was injured.

"Sasuke…" The quiet murmur made the Shinobi jolt violently and he turned wide amber eyes towards the source of the voice, embarrassed by the fact that someone had managed to sneak up behind him…the wound wasn't serious enough for such a slip in his focus, especially not after a major battle. The only thing that helped was the fact that it was Yukimura that was standing watching him, and judging by the concerned expression on the teen's face he hadn't been paying too much attention to Sasuke's startled reactions.

"Danna what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked in confusion as he hastily dropped a hand in an attempt to shield his injury from the probing look the teen was sending him, he had been sure Yukimura would be wrapped up in the aftermath of the battle long enough for him to tend to this and get it wrapped up before he had to face the teen. "Aren't you supposed to be with Taishou?" He added, floundering slightly now that his expectations had been proven wrong and feeling trapped as Yukimura began to move towards him with a concerned frown marring his brow.

"Oyakata-sama has things under control," Yukimura replied calmly as he shot the Shinobi a surprisingly knowing look, and Sasuke subsided, suddenly unsure of what to say especially with the teen's eyes fixated on him.

"Let me see," Yukimura ordered sternly as he stopped in front of the Shinobi and Sasuke hesitated for a moment before sighing and raising his arm to offer the teen a clear view of his injury. Brown eyes widened as the teen took in the injury, and his mouth twisted into an angry line as he closed the short distance between them. "Honestly and you call me reckless," he scolded lifting his gaze briefly to glare at the Shinobi who could only gape helplessly at him, this was a side of the teen that he hadn't seen before and he had no idea how to react.

"I…."

"Shut up and let me look after you," Yukimura ordered curtly, cutting across the weak protest and Sasuke found himself watching with wide eyes as the teen settled beside him, jolting slightly when careful fingers brushed around the edge of his injury and he had to bite back the hiss of pain that wanted to escape.

"Danna…" He tried once more, unsure of how to deal with the fact that Yukimura had discovered his injury and was apparently fully set on treating it even though it wasn't his place to do so.

"I said shut up," Yukimura repeated and the Shinobi wisely heeded the warning in the teen's voice, falling silent and watching trustingly as his Danna cleaned the cut with gentle, steady hands that didn't reflect the anger still burning in his eyes. He had to admit he was startled by the skill Yukimura was showing as once he was satisfied the cut was sufficiently clean he set to carefully stitching the wound shut, his fingers every now and then brushing against undamaged skin in silent apology for the pain that he had to be causing even though the Shinobi hid any sign of pain.

"Thank you," Sasuke risked as Yukimura set aside the needle and thread, and this time there was no anger as the teen glanced at him briefly before reaching for the bandages and proceeding to firmly bind the cut.

"You're welcome," Yukimura finally mumbled as he tied off the bandage before gracefully getting to his feet and offering a hand to Sasuke who blinked in surprise before carefully taking it, allowing the teen to gently pull him back to his feet. "You won't be able to fight for a while, it's in an awkward place so any abrupt movement will probably reopen it."

"Danna…" Sasuke tried to protest even though he knew the assessment was correct, but he couldn't just sit around and do nothing and unfortunately every part of his duties involved 'abrupt movements', however, he trailed off as Yukimura glared at him again, before hissing in a commanding tone that was clearly meant to brook no arguments.

"You are going to rest!"

SB-SB

Four days later:

Yukimura scowled as he headed towards the building that served at the base for his ninja corps, his expression making sure that no one tried to stop him as he strode across the courtyard. He had managed to keep Sasuke away from his work for the past three days, but Shingen had needed him that morning and the sneaky Shinobi had seized the opportunity to sneak away and the teen knew without a doubt where he would find the wayward ninja. He made no attempt to hide his annoyance as he burst into the building, the door opening with a loud noise that immediately silenced the occupants of the room.

However, Yukimura came up short as he took in the sight that he had just walked in on, brown eyes flashing as they raked over Sasuke. The Shinobi was sat on the ground, his armour laying in a heap at his side whilst one of his subordinates was unwrapping his bandages…bandages that were clearly stained with fresh blood.

"Danna…" Sasuke muttered as he raised his gaze to meet Yukimura's, fighting the urge to swallow nervously at the anger he could see burning in the brown eyes and he couldn't help but curse the timing…a few minutes longer and he could have covered this up, now he just had to hope that he could placate the teen. "It's not as bad as it looks," he added, shooting a glare at the Shinobi helping him when the man let out a soft noise of disagreement.

"Please leave us," Yukimura said firmly after a moment, turning his gaze to the other Shinobi who hesitated for a brief second before nodding and disappearing without a word, leaving Sasuke to the tender mercies of a clearly infuriated teen.

"Danna," Sasuke began only to fall silent at the glare that was sent his way, and he bit his lip as Yukimura quickly closed the distance between them before dropping down beside him and immediately reaching out for the bandages.

"I told you to rest," Yukimura scolded as he carefully unwound the bandages with steady hands, hoping that the Shinobi hadn't managed to actually tear out the stitches as he knew from experience how painful that could be…and no matter how annoyed he was with the stubborn man in front of him, he could never ever wish pain upon him.

"I have work to do Danna," he pointed out lightly, however, the teen seemed unimpressed with his argument if the annoyed glint in his eyes was anything to go by and he hastily added. "I have been taking it easier than usual…" _Not that he'd had much choice_, he mused with a light frown, the Shinobi that reported to him had apparently taken Yukimura's request to keep an eye on him to heart and had been doing everything in their power to relieve his workload over the past few days and had steadfastly refused to let him do anything strenuous when he had appeared that morning…_just when did they become that loyal to Yukimura?_ He couldn't help wondering as he recalled the fondness and loyalty in their voices when they had reiterated the orders that had been given to them, and he filed it away to ask Yukimura about at a later point when he was in a better mood.

"Clearly not easy enough," the teen pointed out dryly as he glared at the freshly blood-stained bandages in his hand, before raising his eyes to meet the Shinobi's and a fierce scowl spread across his face and Sasuke found himself swallowing somewhat nervously…Yukimura could be terrifying when he wanted to and Sasuke had no idea when that had happened, he still expected to be faced with the little boy that had pleaded with him to stay…and in all honesty he wasn't sure how to deal with this new version of his charge/Master.

"You don't need to do this Danna," he murmured as he eventually found his voice, although he made no move to reach out and stop Yukimura as the teen carefully peeled away the rest of the bandage, leaning in to examine the wound with a worried expression.

"I know," Yukimura replied softly, a relieved expression flickering across his face as he realised that Sasuke hadn't managed to tear the stitches completely although the wound was looking irritated, and fresh blood was welling up from where the Shinobi had clearly caught it with whatever shenagians he had been up to. His eyes were intent as he examined the rest of the wound, although he briefly shot the Shinobi a warm glance and a small smile that showed his earlier irritation had settled somewhat before adding even more softly. "But I want to."

"Danna…"

"You're always looking after my injuries, why can't I do the same?" The teen demanded with a hint of steel re-entering his voice, and his fingers were slightly firmer as he carefully prodded the wound for a moment before wiping away the blood that was still escaping. Seeing the worry in the brown eyes as he pressed gently against the cut with a clean bit of the bandages, the Shinobi felt the need to try and pass off the seriousness of the injury…and to remind Yukimura that their roles weren't meant to be reversed in this way.

"It's…"

"Not proper? Not normal?" Yukimura was practically snarling as he cut across the Shinobi before he could get started, and the Shinobi froze as he caught the hurt hidden beneath the anger, and he immediately felt bad for trying to push the teen away…and for a brief minute all he could see was Benmaru tearfully pleading with him to stay, and he glanced down sheepishly as the teen continued heatedly. "I don't care! Oyakata-sama doesn't care!" Over the years the Takeda general had encouraged the familial relationship between the pair, and on more than one occasion had firmly quashed protests about the way the pair acted…and it was well known throughout Kai that their young General considered the Shinobi as family, and would defend him as such.

"Sorry Danna," Sasuke murmured as he stared wide-eyed at the teen for a moment, before adding quietly, "I didn't mean to upset you." It was an expression that he hated seeing on Yukimura's face and it was made worse by the realisation that his poorly thought out words had put it there…and worse thing was he knew that the teen was right, those whose opinions mattered didn't care about the unusual nature of their relationship.

"I know," Yukimura replied, his anger subsiding just as quickly as it had appeared but the Shinobi could feel his fingers trembling as he resumed working on the wound, and he hastily smothered the faint hiss of pain threatening to break free at the suddenly clumsy touch knowing that Yukimura would feel guilty for causing him pain. "Just let me do this okay?"

"Okay," Sasuke agreed after a moment, and he was relieved when the quick agreement apparently calmed Yukimura and the teen resumed his ministrations with a slightly lighter expression and steadier hands.

It didn't take long for Yukimura to finish cleaning the wound, and once he was satisfied the bleeding had stopped once more he wrapped it up in clean bandages. His expression turning stern once more as he sat back so that he could meet Sasuke's gaze, and the Shinobi was relieved to see that there was no sign of the earlier hurt in his eyes, even though he tensed at the stern look he was now receiving.

"Promise me you'll rest properly this time," Yukimura asked quietly, his gaze intent and unwavering as he stared at Sasuke. The Shinobi hesitated for a moment, still uneasy at the idea of resting and not working, but realising that if he didn't promise and hold to that promise not only would he be risking his own health but he would more than likely hurt the teen…and he didn't want to cause Yukimura anymore worry.

"I promise," he agreed seriously after a moment, amber eyes never shifting so that Yukimura would see the truth of his words and he was rewarded by the teen relaxing slightly. He was caught by surprise a moment later when Yukimura suddenly leant forward and wrapped his arms around him, carefully avoiding the injury. "Danna?" Sasuke queried with a mix of surprise and concern, trying to remember the last time that the teen had hugged him and alarmed by the sudden action.

"I hate seeing you hurt," Yukimura mumbled after a moment his face buried into the Shinobi's shoulder, and Sasuke could feel the faint tremor that accompanied the words, before the teen added more strongly. "You need to take better care of yourself!"

"I promise to try," Sasuke replied soothingly as he finally raised his arms and wrapped them tightly around the teen, a fond smile tugging at his lips as Yukimura let out a soft noise of contentment before leaning further into the embrace…it didn't seem to matter how much older he became, Yukimura still drew comfort from hugs and although he would never admit it aloud, Sasuke also found comfort in the nostalgic gesture.


End file.
